The Hobbit Chapter Guides
Chapter One: "An Unexpected Party"
SummaryWe are introduced to hobbits and to Bilbo Baggins, a stay-at-home, utterly respectable hobbit with a secret desire for adventure. Bilbo receives a visit from Gandalf the wizard. The next Wednesday Gandalf returns for tea, bringing with him a party of thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. Despite misgivings on both sides, on Gandalf's recommendation the dwarves hire Bilbo as Burglar on an expedition to the Lonely Mountain, where they plan to recover their ancestral treasure from the dragon Smaug. Comprehension Questions

Discussion and Essay Topics1. What does the word hobbit make you think of? (The possibilities include rabbit, hobby, Babbit, habit and hob. The word is probably best seen as a blend of rabbit and hob, an obsolete British word meaning "a rustic, peasant" or "sprite, elf.") How does Bilbo resemble a rabbit in this chapter? When you finish the book, ask yourself if he still reminds you of one. 2. What is an adventure? Is it something that happens, or is it the way we react to what happens? Can we live without adventures? Is there any "magic" in this book? (Return to these questions as the book progresses.)

3. Explain all the meanings of "good morning" (pp. 17-19).4. What about adventures awakens Bilbo's "Tookish" side (pp. 26-28, 30)? What causes his "Baggins" side to reemerge (pp. 30, 38)? Is the Baggins side timid or practical? Is the Tookish side heroic, curious or proud?

5. Even this early in the book, we can see some of the characteristics of dwarves. What are they? (Make sure you include proud, formal, hard- working, and devoted to treasure with a "fierce and jealous love.")

6. What are dragons like (p.35)? As you read on, think about the differences and similarities between dwarves and dragons.

Critical Commentary: Entering a Fantasy WorldA fantasy novel must offer two things: an attractive fantasy world, and a point of contact between the fantasy world and our own. What readers find attractive is a matter of personal taste, but they are likely to discard a fantasy as irrelevant unless they can find a common perspective from which to assess the attractiveness. In general, these common perspectives are established in one of three ways: the main character is transported from our world into the fantasy world (like Alice to Wonderland); the main character is a native of the fantasy world with whom the reader can easily identify; or the fantasy world is fundamentally like ours, differing only in specific details. American teenagers will not automatically identify with a fussy English country squire like Bilbo, so the success of The Hobbit depends on a tension between familiar and exotic things that must be established in the first few pages. The first sentence, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit," introduces a strange creature and an apparently unattractive setting. But the next paragraphs deny this initial reaction. Hobbits love comfort in much the same way we do; they are fond of visitors, food, and clothing; they have families and relatives; some are richer than others--in short, they are very human. By the fourth paragraph hobbits seem normal, and other folk--dwarves, fairies, and Big People--are strange. From here on, adventures take place in a world beyond Bilbo's doorstep, a world which seems as strange to him as it does to us. We share not only his sense of wonder, but also the values that make him love his home.

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...Personal Reading Response
The novel “The Hobbit,” written by J.R.R Tolkien is about Bilbo Baggins, a normal Hobbit, who had never asked for an adventure until 13 dwarves and Gandalf The Wizard show up at his doorstep for tea. They want to use Bilbo as a thief for their quest to reclaim the treasure from the fearsome dragon, Smaug. Bilbo reluctantly joins the company of the dwarves as they set off on their journey to cross the Misty Mountains, which is troll and golbin country and the untamed wild of Mirkwood, where straying from the path can be deadly and lead you to Giant Spiders, Wargs and Orcs.
An admirable character in the The Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins. At the start of the story he would much rather relax in his comfy hobbit-hole or take long walks in the Shire than go on adventures, as Mr Baggins thinks “adventures make one late for dinner.” Bilbo reluctantly accepted the offer, and soon finds himself on a long journey through the forests of Mirkwood, to get to Smaug’s dark lair hidden away in the Lonely Mountain. Thorin Oakensheild who is the leader of the group wasn’t that keen about having Bilbo on the quest but soon realises the goodness in him “There is more in you of good than you know child of the kindly West.” Bilbo is quite unlike the dwarves as he cherished friendship and happiness over gold and wealth and he shows this by putting his life at risk several time by escaping ferocious goblins and...

...The Hobbit Question 1
In every fantasy novel, there is always a protagonist and an antagonist with other characters that are either good or bad. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien is a novel about a rich, small and timid hobbit, called Bilbo Baggins, who was chosen by a wizard, Gandalf to join thirteen other dwarves on a nighly impossible adventure to retrieve the treasure that was stolen by Smaug the dragon. Throughout the novel, the races Tolkien invented in The Hobbit are either good or evil, and none in between.
The first race that is mentioned in the book is the hobbit. The only hobbit that was given in the novel is Bilbo Baggins. The first description of the hobbit is given in the first chapter. It quote “They are a little people, about half our height, and smaller than a bearded dwarves.” This gives the reader the impression of the hobbit being small and vulnerable, which make them harmless and tame. Another example that emphasis that reinforce that Bilbo is good is that he is respected by others as seen in the following quote “people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich…”. Bilbo is also labelled as being kind, brave, heroic and smart through his action. Throughout the novel, Bilbo smart thinking and brave act has saved the dwarves countless times. One example of this is Bilbo rescuing the dwarves from the Wood-elves....

...Summer Reading Essay
The Hobbit: A Discussion on Setting
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, readers are introduced to an imaginary world of dwarves, elves, hobbits and wizards who battle dragons, orcs, and other dark entities. There are two kinds of settings that Tolkien expresses in his masterpiece: the physical setting of Middle Earth that changes as the travellers trek from one region to the next, and the interior setting happening in the protagonist Bilbo Baggins’s mind as he ventures out of his comfort zone and realizes his true potential.
The Hobbit is set in "Middle-earth”, a fantasyland created by Tolkien. The book starts and ends in Hobbiton, a town in Middle Earth, a peaceful region usually unharmed by troubles elsewhere in the world. During the course of the book, the setting changes, moving east across the Misty Mountains and through the great forest of Mirkwood to the area around the Lonely Mountain, which includes the Desolation of Smaug, Lake-town, and the ruins of the town of Dale to face the devastating dragon. As the protagonist and his dwarf companions and Gandalf travel into lands "where people spoke strangely, and sung songs Bilbo had never heard before". And as they go farther and farther away from Bilbo's home, they find "dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees". The farther Bilbo goes into the unknown, the more the landscape reflects his discomfort, particularly the "old...

...Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is my favorite character for The Hobbit. What I like about him is how he becomes courageous and overcomes obstacles many times in many different ways. He does this when he saves the dwarves from the spiders and when he goes into the cave with Smaug. Also he thinks through all of his situations and figures out how to solve them the best way. Bilbo is in my opinion the most important character because none of this could be done without him.
Bilbo Baggins is a small hairy Hobbit who lives in the Shire. At about age 50 Gandalf the Grey came and selected him to be at the burglar four a quest to take back The Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After much thought he decides that he will go with them on their adventure, but he did not yet know what lied ahead of him. Also he did not realize how much it would change him by the end of this adventure, but to accomplish just getting to the mountain he would have to use his many skills that he gains along the way.
What I like about Bilbo the most is the many skills he gains along the way. One of the skills he gains is his courage. Before he goes on this adventure he is very timid and to himself this is because hobbits do not do anything dangerous especially adventures. When we first start to see Bilbo have courage is when he attempts to steal from the trolls. Also another time we see him have courage is when he throws rocks and insults the spiders that are trying to...

...I will be talking about Gandalf’s role in the story and how he is like a father figure to Bilbo. The Hobbit was wrote by J. R. R. Tolkien. We first see Gandalf at the beginning of the story when he meets Bilbo at his hobbit hole. The first impression the story gives us about Gandalf is he is wise and every time he visits he tells adventourus stories. Gandalf is a old wise wizard, who isn’t interested in the gold the dwarves were looking for but to push Bilbo into a new life style.
Gandalf’s role in the story is being a leader to the Bilbo and the other dwarves. Gandalf is the leader because he saves Bilbo and the dwarves from the trolls when he tricks the trolls to argue on how to eat them until the sun came up and turned them to stone. Later on in the journey Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves went to shelter to rest until they were ambushed by orcs and taken hostage, but Gandalf evaded being captured since he heard them coming. Just shortly after Gandalf kills the Great Goblin with his sword Glamdring. These encounters show how important Gandalf is and why he is the leader.
Gandalf is like a father figure to Bilbo. Gandalf first demonstrates this by insisting Bilbo to go on the adventure so he can try new things and experience the Took side in him. Later on in the story Gandalf disrupts Bilbo’s conventionality and entrust him to lead the dwarves after he leaves. This shows the trust Gandalf has for Bilbo to lead the group for there...

...The novel takes place in the fictional land of Middle Earth, following the lead characters as they travel from the small village of Hobbiton through wild forests and goblin infested and dragon inhabited mountains.
Main Characters
Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit and the protagonist of the story.
Gandalf, a wizard who initiates Bilbo’s journey with the dwarves. Gandalf causes Bilbo to set aside his reputation for cautious respectability to go on an adventure that will change the hobbit forever.
Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of a group of 13 dwarves who wish to recover a treasure horde stolen by a dragon.
Smaug, the dragon and antagonist of the story.
Plot and Storyline
Bilbo Baggins begins as a cautious and conservative hobbit, well respected and considered a pillar of the hobbit community.
When he reluctantly sets out on a quest to recover the stolen treasure of a band of dwarves, he encounters dangers of all descriptions. His adventures, which figure prominently in a prophecy of the dwarves, are like stepping stones on the inner journey Biblo must take to find his courage. Bilbo faces trials which again and again force him to look deep inside himself for the strength and resourcefulness he needs to complete the task expected of him.
Questions to Ponder
Is Bilbo his own biggest enemy?
How does the greed of Thorin contribute to Bilbo’s growth as a character?
How does the confidence or lack...

...Throughout the course of a novel a theme of growth and maturation within characters can often be seen. J.R.R. Tolkien uses the theme of maturation within his novel, The Hobbit. This theme is the key point to the development of the character, Bilbo Baggins. In The Hobbit, Tolkien uses Bilbo to represent growth and maturation through the idea that during the course of his quest he turns from an unlikely hero into something that is much larger than life.
In the first chapter of the novel Bilbo is introduced as a typical hobbit that is not adventurous, not someone that could be seen as a hero. However, shortly after that Bilbo is already evolving into a hero through his success with the trolls. Bilbo then finds the ring and is transformed into the hero, “till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it” (68). Later Bilbo shows the characteristics of a hero when he able to help the other dwarves escape from the spiders nest. After that Bilbo shows more hero characteristics when he is able to steal the keys from the drunk jailing, unlocking the dwarves cells. Then he is able to safely bring the dwarves, who are in barrels, to shore and free them from the barrels. After that Bilbo he successfully leads them up the mountain and deciphers the runes of Thorin’s map. Bilbo then must enter the cave alone because the other...

...﻿The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The main character is Bilbo Baggins. He is a small little hobbit. He really likes adventures, but doesn't like to show that he does. He is a quite person. He likes to have his privacy. Now Gandalf the big gray wizard is very tall and is
The Hobbit is a book that shows that even the most unlikely person, or hobbit can turn out to be a real hero. In the book, Bilbo gets caught up in an adventure that will later change his life. In the beginning Bilbo Baggins ran into an old acquaintance, Gandalf, a wizard, who he had met many years earlier at festivals, in which Gandalf made fireworks with his magic. Bilbo and Gandalf talked for a while and Bilbo being the kind hobbit he was invited him for tea the next day. The next day at about the time Bilbo had expected Gandalf he heard a knock at the door, but when he opened the door it was in fact not Gandalf but a little dwarf. The dwarf introduced himself and let himself in. After that many dwarves followed, in fact 9 more had come to the little hobbit's doorstep. Then finally after all the dwarves had made themselves comfortable he heard another wrap at the door, and sure enough it was Gandalf along with 3 other dwarves. That night Gandalf and the dwarves spoke of adventure and of dragon's gold that had once belonged to the leader of the dwarves father. They also spoke of an adventure they were about to embark on, and then they...